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Oppose to the New Gas Station by Harris Teeter in Broadlands

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by OSimpson, Jun 18, 2016.

  1. OSimpson

    OSimpson Certified Master Naturalist

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    Broadlands has a gas station, Sunoco. Brambleton can also have one in Brambleton where lots of land still available.
     
  2. OSimpson

    OSimpson Certified Master Naturalist

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    Does that mean they can put all that into the space on top of each other. If the application is asking for "Special Exception Permit" obviously not. I am guessing you heard the comments from the board meeting - it wasn't like I am the only one who thinks the first proposed location was simply ridiculous. This includes few businesses very close to the location.
     
  3. GenericEric

    GenericEric Member

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    For those in support, dropping a quick note to bos@loudoun.gov will let the supervisors know there are some members of the community in favor of this option. Or hey, if you're opposed you can use that, too, but I doubt the supporters have been as vocal.
     
  4. nadir

    nadir New Member

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    Any chance the grocery store would be a build to suit for Trader Joe's? :D
    Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread. This is about gas stations.
     
  5. OSimpson

    OSimpson Certified Master Naturalist

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    :) Well - the gas station was approved. Obviously, HT won. VM could not say NO. Although I understand the gas station shortage argument during the decision, do they have to be clustered in Broadlands? Why someone is not jumping on Safeway facility already? How on earth Brambleton survives with no gas station. Hurry - someone see the shortage and jump on this opportunity.... The other argument that there was no competition - do we think a grocery store gas station will compete with gas prices? Most people say HT is expensive, now you will probably will shop more to save few dollars gallon... how will that add up we shall wait and see.

    If Harris Teeter wants to compete in grocery business- they should try to learn how it's done by watching Wegmans.
     
  6. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    I bet in HT put a gas station on the HUGE lot that is in brambleton town center they'd make a killing and far more than in this shopping center :)
     
  7. OSimpson

    OSimpson Certified Master Naturalist

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    I hope it will be 20 fueling stations so it can keep up with the demand. Because Broadlands needed 14 more... watch for the cars lining up. Especially after a snow storm - that's the place to go...
     
  8. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Brambleton has an approved gas station. Just hasn't been built yet.
     
  9. Mom23

    Mom23 Member

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    Do you know what they are waiting for to build the station in brambleton?
     
  10. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    No. It was approved over a year ago.
     
  11. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Probably waiting for a bank to be built with a big enough vault to hold all that dough they are going to make...
     
    Mom23 likes this.
  12. OSimpson

    OSimpson Certified Master Naturalist

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    Things that I have realized and learned during this process.

    1 - I am amazed that Sunoco has 12 gas pumps, Exxon by CVS has 10 gas pumps, and Saveway had 12 also, but HT needed 14 in Southern Walk location. Wow! But, hearing the reaction to the first location from other residents, businesses and the board members, it makes me wonder how the county planners and the commissioners review and approve these applications.

    2 - Also, county can increase revenue by not allowing the developers to "bundle" many permit request applications together. Apparently there is a fee for "each" application. So when they are bundled, not only it makes the decision making process harder, because, each board member may have a different view for different requests of the application, it has to be approved as a bundle - or it's more steps to separate them, or deal with it with other options. So county is loosing money and time with this bundling option developers have.

    3 - I have admit that the process of following what happens when, what are the procedures, where are the details, what can happen next has been a challenge for me and I thought it would not be as complex. Not only residents can simply not know about these applications, if they did, it is time consuming to find out the details in the system, than you have to figure out exactly what to do and when you can do it, so people not only have the time to take action, I can now say, if they did, they will also be lost in this process which can make their action, a little too late or insignificant.

    I hope that aging suburbs will be part of the comprehensive plan, to retrofit it to for improving the lifestyle quality, as well as making wise decisions to not allow "sprawl" to continue into the transition zone - because if they do - our communities, our home values will not go up, our roads will not connect, will not improve with walkability, the tree canopy will not improve, there will not be better funding for the education system - and it's going to look like Fairfax - which in the first place, why people moved away from Fairfax - to have the higher standards first we all thought was going to be delivered and maintained. It takes money to do these things, and if the taxes are not going to be increased, and the population grows, aging communities will not have the funding needed. Continues re-zoning with the effort to bring in more revenue may not be what we thought it was going to be like - after all...
     
  13. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    I'm envious of most of my friend's who live in Fairfax... the reason we moved to Loudoun was no one could afford Fairfax...

    As for 'higher standards' - it was 'undeveloped' not protected...
     
  14. overflow17

    overflow17 New Member

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    All of you fail to realize that this has nothing to do with gas, gas pumps, ecology, Brambleton, Safeway, or anything else mentioned. This is all about gas points. Giant owns the low cost grocery market and Teeter wants in. Gas points are the winning ticket. Teeter (or whatever the resulting rebrand is called) is going to blast you with gas point offers until you are lining up with your gas cans to get free gas. And you will dump Wegmans and make this store your go to grocery shopping experience. You better hope that they build a bunch of these things. Otherwise this will be the place for everyone in the county to run to for free gas.

    Yeah competition is good and we are buying more SUVs and we want the convenience but they want you in their stores.
     
  15. GenericEric

    GenericEric Member

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    I think everyone understands Harris Teeter's motivation for building the station - they've been pretty open about this getting more people into their store. I'm sure it will be successful to an extent, but Wegmans offers so many more options (which I say as a person who doesn't like to shop at Wegmans), I doubt people saving a dime on a gallon of gas will bring down Wegmans.
     
  16. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    I think if HT wants in on the 'low cost grocery market' - they're pricing their groceries all wrong....

    It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize a magically 10c off a gallon is only $2 or less off most car fillups. You'll overpay that much on a box of crackers at HT.

    Anyone flocking to a grocery store based on gas points without paying attention to prices is a sucker
     
    KTdid likes this.
  17. OSimpson

    OSimpson Certified Master Naturalist

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    Here are the gas prices for Harris Teeter in other locations they have gas stations:
    http://www.northcarolinagasprices.com/Harris_Teeter_Gas_Stations/index.aspx

    I will wonder if the gas will be free - but with points program you are talking about, HT will certainly make up for it with prices in the store. Safeway had offers too, and once in a while I would go there to get some stuff, but as it's pointed out - I wasn't convinced that it's worth the trip to go out of my way for it - and spend the gas to get to it too.

    Wegmans has built a model that has been proven in Loudoun that no matter what, people will line up to go there and spend bulk of their money there. That shopping center has no gas station, it's difficult to get to, and get out of. I don't there there is any other grocery store that needs a police assistance for their holiday shopping season, except the one in Dulles.

    Harris Teeter in Broadlands would be better off competing with pricing and selection of the goods people buy most in stores.

    Regardless, this gas station could have been half the size of what they want to build to be a true "accessory" to their customers - not a 14 fueling station. With that said, I am impressed how many Tesla I see around, and since we have 2 Prius - We are good to get gas when it's empty and passing by any gas station.

    About the shortage of gas station in Ashburn or Loudoun in general, it's interesting to hear because you would think this industry would be all over the opportunity to built them around. Safeway facility is still vacant, I saw one closed in Leesburg recently and I guess one is approved but not built in Brambleton? What's up with that???

    Let's wait and see how it will unfold...
     
  18. GenericEric

    GenericEric Member

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    Side note on the Safeway station - there are likely leasing complications given the larger Safeway property at the same location. If this was a bundled deal, which seems very likely, then either uncoupling the two properties, or finding a tenant in a less-attractive sublease, may take some time to sort out.

    Not arguing with your larger point if other stations are closing, just saying this one may be due to factors beyond the market.
     
  19. overflow17

    overflow17 New Member

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    OSimpson it looks like this is a passionate issue for you. But you really have nothing to worry about. Once Amazon moves in all grocery stores will be doomed. Whole Foods will be first (kind of already happening), Wegmans will be second, Teeter will be third. I suspect Giant will hang on a while. You can already see the impact Amazon is having on Target. It's not pretty. I'm envisioning all of these grocery shells being repurposed as data centers.

    One day soon we will tell our grandchildren "I remember when you had to actually go out and get your own groceries."
     

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